


Happily Ever After

by JustSomeGirl92



Series: Baby, I love you [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Baby, Established Relationship, Lance and keith are so in love, M/M, Mpreg, happy endings, hugs and kisses, lots of fluff, parent!Klance, there is a dog, very little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:12:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14211903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustSomeGirl92/pseuds/JustSomeGirl92
Summary: It has been a few years since Lance and Keith return to Earth. They are still together and finally able to settle down. They still have some issues to work through and of course even the calm of normal life comes with a few storms of its own. Whatever happens, they know they'll face it together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Happily Ever After](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705877) by [DreamerX2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamerX2/pseuds/DreamerX2)



> Since this chapter is mostly flashbacks, the present is in italics. This is the happy ending to The Baby Blues, Getting By and Captured. I head cannon that they both work part time Keith at a mechanic shop and Lance teaches little kids to surf, more for fun than the money. Also, I imagine that Lance's family lives in Cuba but you can imagine whatever you want. I left it open so any head cannons are valid.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One evening Lance and Keith relax together and reminisce on their relationship since their return to Earth.

_Keith could finally understand why Lance liked the rain._

_He’d never cared for it much himself, finding the cold and damp unappealing. Going outside in a downpour was not exactly Keith's idea of fun. Rain tended to impeded things but he wasn’t looking at it that way in this moment._

_In this moment, curled into the couch with a blanket covering his legs, watching the rain fall from the warmth and comfort of his home and listening to the man he loved humming to himself while bustling around the kitchen, Keith could see the beauty. The rain brought new life. Washed away the old and provided what the plants  needed to flourish and grow._

_Lance was like the rain, Keith thought idly to himself. It was quickly followed by the thought that he was never, ever going to say that out loud, no matter how true it was._

_If it wasn’t for Lance, Keith wasn't sure where he would be right now, if he would even be here at all._

XXXX

Lance hummed to himself as he walked into the bedroom he shared with his boyfriend. The word still seemed too small for what he and Keith had. They’d been together for a few years now and Lance couldn't remember what his life was like before Keith.

Finally, after all this time he was going to get the chance to introduce his family to the person that had been keeping him safe and sane this whole time. He was finally going to show Keith off to his family, introduce him as the love of his life. They wouldn't have to fear for each other anymore. They could be normal.

With thoughts of cuddling up to Keith in a hammock on the beach or holding hands with him under his parent’s dinner table, fighting about which Ikea bookcase to get and laughing as they cleaned the house together, it took him a moment to realise that Keith was not in their bedroom. Lance blinked and glance around, seeing no evidence of Keith having been in there recently. Shrugging it off, Lance headed to where else he thought Keith might be.

He didn’t have any luck in the training room but that was okay. He still had one more place to check. Lance continued humming to himself as he walked through the rarely used hallway, stopping about halfway down.

Sure enough, there was that familiar figure curled into the small alcove of the window facing out towards the vast galaxy.

“Hey, babe!” Lance greated. He didn't hesitate to lean down and kiss his boyfriend’s cheek. As much as Keith tried not to let it show, when he turned his head towards Lance, there was a distinct little smile playing across his lips. Lance grinned and kissed him again before sliding in across from him.

“I was looking for you! Can you believe this time tomorrow we’ll be back home? I can’t wait to see everyone! I know it might be kind of overwhelming for you at first but I was thinking-”

“I’m not sure yet,” Keith cut him off, not looking at Lance directly.

Lance paused, blinking to fill in the space as his brain tried to catch up. Nope, he was lost.

“Not sure about what yet?” Lance asked, slipping into that voice and posture that said he was ready to listen and discuss. Sometimes Keith hated how supportive his boyfriend was.

Keith took a deep breath and forced himself to look Lance in the eye. “Not sure...if I’m going back to Earth.”

Lance’s face betrayed his initial surprise before his brow furrowed and confusion took over. “I know it might seem like a lot but we could always have like a...a safeword of sorts. So I know when you need to take a break from everyone for a little while. I could always go down first and-”

“No, Lance, that’s not the problem,” Keith shook his head and sighed. He knew this was going to be difficult and he wasn’t even sure he really knew what he was doing here. There was a moment of silence, both of them mulling over their thoughts in their own heads.

“Is it...about your mom?” Lance asked quietly.

Keith knew he would figure it out, knew Lance was anything but stupid. Keith nodded slowly.

Lance tried not to be bitter, knowing it was the wrong emotion but unable help himself. Keith’s mother had left him and no matter how good her reason had been, it had done a lot of damage. Lance had fought so hard against Keith’s insecurities and the walls he’d put around himself just to get through to him, to be allowed close to him. Yet here Keith was, choosing his mother over Lance, even after everything they’d been through.

Lance hated these selfish thoughts. He could understand Keith’s feelings. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t think Keith could do better than him but Lance had thought they had something stronger than that  between them, something Keith was as eager to hold on to as he was.

“Okay, I get it,” Lance sighed, running a hand through his hair and gathering his thoughts. “So, then I’ll go down to Earth for awhile and come back to you in a few months. It might be good for us. Absence makes the heart grow fonder? You’ll have some time to get to know your mom better and-”

“No, Lance. You can’t do that,” Keith’s voice was soft but firm. Despite their heavy conversation, Lance couldn’t help but smile. “You belong on Earth.”

“So do you,” Lance insisted.

Keith shook his head slowly, looking out at the vast expanse of space. His arms rested on his bent knees and Lance watched Keith's hands twist together nervously. “I never fit in anywhere on Earth. At least not for very long. I didn’t have any friends. I don’t think I really belonged on Earth.”

“Maybe not,” Lance mused. Keith turned to him, seeing Lance’s profile as his boyfriend stared thoughtfully out at the stars. Keith traced the long scar that ran from Lance’s temple straight down to his jaw with his eyes before Lance turned back to him and reached for his hand.

“But you do belong with me,” Lance insisted. “So I’ll go wherever you go.”

“Lance that’s…” Keith willed himself to stop and take a breath. It was hard not to get choked up when Lance squeezed his hand and smiled softly at him.

“If you don’t want me coming after you then you’ll have to break up with me.” Lance forced his voice to sound as casual as possible but his heart was beating painfully and he almost wanted to vomit.

Keith’s eyes widened as though the thought had never crossed his mind. “I can’t do that!”

Lance couldn't help smiling at Keith's distressed expression. “Well what were you planning to do? Have a long distance relationship?”

“You’re supposed to break up with me,” Keith frowned.

“I don’t want to break up with you,” Lance tilted his head adorably. “So what now?”

Keith bit his lip and looked away. Lance let him have his moment of thought before intruding.

“Keith, if this is about how you seem to think I’m going to want someone else when we’re back on Earth, that’s not going to happen,” Lance said firmly. Keith didn’t look at him but he did squeeze Lance’s hand. He took that as an affirmative. “We’ve been through a lot together. Stuff that would break up anyone else but it’s only made us stronger. We’re….we _are_ strong. If we can still love each other through all the stress and the tears and the fighting then I think we can handle the occasional trip to Ikea and whose turn it is to do the dishes.”

Lance was relieved to see Keith’s lips twitch into a smile, as much as the dark haired boy tried to hide it.

“What if that’s the only thing keeping us together?” Keith whispered.

Lance shook his head, waiting until Keith turned to look at him. “It’s not,” Lance said firmly, leaving no room for argument. “We already talked about having a family. This is our chance. I understand getting cold feet but don’t you dare try to tell me that we aren’t strong enough for this. Don’t you sit there and lie to my face, Keith Kogane!”

Finally, Keith laughed and Lance’s heart fluttered pleasantly.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Lance McClain,” Keith smiled affectionately.

“So is that a yes to meeting the family?”

Keith nodded and smiled. “Can’t let all that Spanish I learned go to waste.”

XXXX

_“Herbal or something caffeinated?” Lance’s voice sounded from the kitchen._

_Keith considered for a moment. “Caffeinated. Do we still have the Yorkshire stuff?”_

_He heard a cupboard open and some rummaging. “Sure do, babe.”_

_Keith made a noise in acknowledgment and turned back to the window. Lance continued his humming and moving around._

_“So did you talk to your mom today?” Lance called._

_Keith turned his head towards the kitchen again. “Yep. She’s coming tomorrow.”_

_“Good! Will she be able to stay long?”_

_“She hopes so,” Keith replied._

_Lance nodded to himself. “Me too.”_

_It wasn’t long before he came around the corner to the living room, two steaming mugs in hand. Lance paused in the doorway, enjoying the moment. He often found himself caught of guard by Keith. Sometimes the dark haired man would laugh or smile and Lance would feel like he’d been punched in the chest as the realisation hit him that not only did Lance love this man with all his heart, but Keith loved him too._

_He was still getting used to the overwhelming emotions associated with being in love. If Lance thought this would fade with time, he was entirely mistaken. Lance had always fantasised about this. Keith curled up comfortably and waiting for him to bring his tea, trusting Lance to make it exactly the way he liked even though he hadn't asked. Lance trusted that as soon as he slid the warm mug into his hands, Keith would smile appreciatively and shift over in invitation for Lance to sit down._

_These simple fantasies were what had gotten Lance through his many experiences of heartbreak, knowing it was necessary to get to this point. That wasn’t to say Keith hadn’t broken his heart before and Lance knew he’d done the same but that was different. Keith was always there to sweep up the pieces and put everything back together, better than it was before. Lance didn’t have to pick himself up anymore, he had someone to lean on. Someone who fit into his life seamlessly._

_The thought made him smile as he stepped fully into the living room._

XXXX

Lance’s brief descriptions of his home and family had not prepared Keith for the reality he’d been met with. At least he knew most faces and could put a name to them but there seemed like a lot more when they were all gathered together right in front of him than when he’d been looking at pictures of them on Lance’s phone.

Lance had told Keith that his family had owned a large piece of land for generations and many of his family members chose to stay there, Keith hadn’t expected the size of it. Not surprisingly, the land was almost beachfront but not quite. There were so many houses that it seemed more a settlement than family land.

Some of the homes were clearly much older and some were relatively new. Lance explained that they were constantly building more as families expanded or handing houses down, like his abuela had given her home to Lance’s newly married cousin when she’d moved in with Lance’s brother Marco to help after the birth of his fourth child. His wife had to go back to her job as a lawyer and wasn’t able to be home all the time.

The tour Lance gave him was almost overwhelming but Lance’s family was eager to make a good impression. They recognized him, from the TV, they said. Parents had to chastise the younger ones who were eager for stories about what it was like being _defenders of the Universe!_ Not that Keith or Lance really minded.

|The best part of the day was retiring to Lance’s parents house, where it was quieter and Lance’s mother always pushed delicious food on him with a smile and a forehead kiss. It threw him off at first but quickly got used to it. Surprisingly, it was Lance’s father that Keith got along with the best. Probably because neither of them spoke.

They could spend hours sitting in the ancient lawn chairs outside and watch the scenery while sipping strong Cuban coffee and not exchanging a single word.

Keith would never forget the evening a few days after their arrival that Lance’s father suddenly stood from his seat and turned to Keith.

“I like you,” he’d said. Keith had been too surprised to respond but a pleasant feeling rose in his chest. Mr. McClain stopped at the door and glanced over his shoulder. “You make him happy,” he’d added before going inside. Keith had sat out there another twenty minutes, basking in the warmth.

That was how Keith knew that he wanted a porch to sit on in the evenings.

“Okay, what else do you want?” Lance asked, nibbling on the end of his pen thoughtfully. So far the list of must haves for their new home was entirely Lance’s suggestions. The porch was Keith's only contribute so far.

Keith just shrugged his shoulders. Lance sighed, leaning back in the chair and tapping the desk with his pen. Keith sat cross legged on the bed in their shared bedroom, hair still dripping from his recent shower.

“C’mon, there has to be something else you want,” Lance prodded. “Are you worried about money? The government is giving us lots and it's not like we have to pay for the land to build it.”

Keith shook his head. “No, I just can’t think of anything. I lived in a shack and was happy with that. I don’t really care.”

It was weird for him to even be discussing this. When Lance first brought up the fact that they would probably enjoy having their own home, he’d asked Kieth if he wanted to build their own on his family’s land or buy a house somewhere else.

The way he’d asked told Keith that he was willing to move to make Kieth happy. But he’d been quick to assure Lance it was best to stay and build their home here. He’d stay close to his family like Keith knew he wanted and it wasn't like Keith had any attachments to one place in particular. Lance had seemed very relieved.

Lance gasped. “Are you insinuating that I am _high maintenance_?!” he demanded in mock outrage.

“Well you are,” Keith teased.

Lance gasped again, tossing his pen at Keith. It bounced off his knee and flopped onto the pillow.

“I have your pen now,” Keith teased, picking it up and waving it mockingly.

“Jokes on you, I have more,” Lance stuck his tongue out while opening the drawer of his desk and pulling out a new pen to wave at Keith. He pulled his chair in closer to the desk and considered the list again. “What about like a home gym or training room sort of thing?” Lance suggested, glancing over at his boyfriend again. You spent a lot of time there on the ship.”

Keith nodded, perking up a little bit at that. “Uh, yea. That would be cool. Would you use it though?”

“Meh,” Lance shrugged one shoulder and waved a hand noncommittally. “Maybe a bit. I prefer running and swimming though. Maybe we could put in a treadmill. You could get some weights and those wooden things that you hit.”

Keith frowned. “Wait...like a wing chun dummy?”

“Yea,” Lance nodded. “You know, that sort of thing.”

Keith bit his lip. “But if you’re not even going to use it…”

“It’s your house too,” Lance reminded him. Suddenly his face lit up and he added something else. “A big garage, right? You’re already doing a lot of mechanic work for my family. That would be nice to have your own work space, right?”

“Yea, actually it would…” Keith nodded sheepishly. He hadn’t even thought of that but the idea of a gym and a big garage in his own house was really nice. He was more used to making due with what he had. It was weird to think about designing something of this magnitude just for himself.

Lance finished adding it before tossing the pen down and letting it bounce once before settling on the desk.

“Hey, I was thinking…” he said slowly. He hadn’t turned towards Keith yet.

“Hm?” Keith made an interested noise to urge Lance on.

“Are you uneasy about building a house together because you’re still not sure about sticking around?”

Keith was silent for too long for any denial to be plausible. He swallowed as Lance turned towards him fully, planting both feet on the floor and leaning his elbows on his knees.

“I just know that you said that was a problem for you before. Like, imaging a future with someone and stuff. I mean, I’m not taking it personally because you said not to and I totally trust you. I just want to know if that’s still...a thing?” Lance looked up from where his gaze had rested on his feet to meet Keith’s eyes.

“Yea…” Keith muttered, looking down at his hands. He knew it wasn't exactly his fault but he still felt guilty for holding anything back from his boyfriend. “I love you and I really really want to have a house together and everything but I just worry that you’ll change your life to build everything around me and then not love me anymore and then you’ll be mad because your life isn’t what you wanted and it's my fault.”

Keith hadn't even noticed Lance stand but suddenly he was sitting on the bed beside him, an arm around Keith's shoulder. He sighed, rubbing a hand down Keith’s arm to his wrists and sliding their fingers together.

“I know I can tell you that’s not going to happen until I’m blue in the face but nothing I say is going to undue everything you’ve experienced up to now. It’s not your fault you think that way either. It is what it is.” Lance’s voice was soft near his ear and he paused to kiss Keith’s temple. “I love you too, a lot. I know we’re going to last, I know it. So for now just...don’t worry about it, okay? I’m not going to be mad and I’m not going to fall out of love with you.”

Keith raised an eyebrow teasingly and Lance let himself smile.

“Let’s just enjoy this,” Lance said softly, shifting closer, arms sliding easily around Keith’s waist. “I know a house is a big thing but this is honestly everything that I’ve ever wanted. _You’re_ everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Keith laughed outright. “You’re so cheesy! I can’t believe you!”

“Hey!” Lance protested indignantly. “I’m pouring my heart out here you little shit!”

Keith just laughed harder until Lance scowled.

“Oh yea! I’ll give you something to laugh about!”

Keith squealed as Lance dove for his sides, tickling Keith mercilessly.

XXXX

_Keith turned his head as soon as he heard Lance’s footsteps approaching. He smiled sheepishly, glancing at the TV that still remained off. Lance had asked him to find something on Netflix but Keith had been so content watching the rain he hadn’t even picked up the remote._

_“Watching the rain?” Lance grinned. He paused in front of Keith and carefully handed over the mug. “Careful, it’s hot.”_

_“Really?” Keith asked sarcastically. Lance rolled his eyes._

_Keith took it and carefully positioned the mug, holding it in his hands and just enjoying the warmth while it cooled. He smiled at Lance and shifted over, pulling the blanket back in invitation._

_Grinning, Lance leaned over to kiss his cheek before settling in beside him. Keith draped the blanket back over the both of them and turned to lean into Lance’s side._

_Moving slowly, Keith brought one hand up and gently traced the jagged scar across his cheek._

_The corner of Lance’s mouth turned up at the touch. “Admiring my rugged and manly profile?’ he teased, lifting an arm to drape over Keith's shoulders._

_The dark haired man rolled his eyes but he was still smiling when he nodded. “Yea. I like it.”_

_Lance smiled even bigger, turning his head and taking a sip of tea to hide his blush. Keith grinned, nuzzling into Lance’s shoulder._

_That wasn’t exactly the truth. While he did love every part of Lance, Keith always felt a pain in his chest when he looked at the scar. It wasn't exactly the thing itself because if Keith was being honest, it did make him look rugged and handsome. But Keith knew how he’d gotten that scar. He could still remember Lance bleeding down his face while assuring Keith it wasn’t all that bad. Keith had seen the look of pain in his eyes but Lance had forced himself to smile and not worry Keith further._

_Afterwards, Lance was very vocal about how ‘badass’ his scar was and how ‘all the ladies love a good scar!’ He hadn’t even admitted to Keith that he was actually self conscious about it. For some reason Lance seemed to think all he had going for him was his good looks and that the scar marred him. Which was obviously untrue to everyone else but explaining that to Lance was like arguing with a brick wall. Keith knew that first hand. So, even though he noticed how Lance would subconsciously turn that side of his face away and the flash of hurt when he caught someone's eye darting towards it, Keith didn’t try to convince him of anything._

_Instead, Keith had taken to running the tip of his tongue down the scar while planting slow, open mouthed kisses over the side of Lance’s face when they were alone and trailing down his neck before breathily whispering how sexy it was._

XXXX

It wasn’t real…

It was real….

But it had happened in the past….

No, it wasn’t happening now….

Lance stopped breathing, eyes wide as they searched the dark frantically, heart pounding in his chest so hard it was all he could hear. He strained his ears to pick up the sounds of anything that might be out there in the darkness of the bedroom he shared with his boyfriend.

Slowly, Lance came back to himself, returning to his body and allowing him to move again. He sat up slowly and carefully, head throbbing in pain. His mouth felt dry and his skin was too warm but too cold at the same time.

“Lance.”

The voice saying his name was quiet and soft and hearing it made Lance feel ashamed. He didn’t respond, hoping Keith might think he was only dreaming and turn over to go back to sleep.

No such luck.

Lance sighed when he felt Keith shift beside him,sitting up slowly. The tips of his fingers brushed Lance’s shoulder, tentative and unsure. He didn’t respond.

“Lance?” Keith tried again, moving closer and loosely draping his arms around Lance’s waist. He felt Keith’s chin drop onto his shoulder and reached a hand up to tousle the head of dark hair that tickled his cheek. Keith’s hair had grown out and he usually wore it in a ponytail or a bun but at night he left it down loose for Lance to run his fingers through.

Lance sighed heavily, head turned away. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Go back to sleep.”

Keith didn’t answer at first, just leaned closer and brushed his lips over the scar on his face. Lance instinctively turned his head farther away. It was enough for Keith to understand.

“Nightmare?” he asked. Lance nodded.

He didn't ask what it was about. Lance had a recurring nightmare, revolving around the time he’d spent as a prisoner to the Galra and received the scar as a reminder.

Keith’s arms tightened around his boyfriend a little more, shifting closer. Lance was still tense, not allowing himself to relax. Keith kissed the top of his head before shifting to slide out of bed, having to climb over Lance in the process.

He could hear the tap running in the on suite briefly before Keith returned with a glass of water. Lance took it without a word and Keith crawled back over him to settle in at his side again. By the time he was under the blankets, Lance had downed the glass and was holding it in his lap with both hands. At least in their own home there wasn’t the added embarrassment of waking his parents with his nightmares but the thought did little to make him feel any better.

Keith knew better than to ask if Lance wanted to talk about it. Lance was grateful for that at least. He hated Keith to see him like this, wanted to be strong for his boyfriend at all times. He knew that Keith had nightmares of his own, some from times even before they went into space together. Keith had a hard life before Lance and he deserved a boyfriend who was strong and brave, someone that Keith would feel safe around. Not someone who woke up in the night covered in sweat and so terrified he couldn't speak.

Keith didn’t seem to get the memo.

He maneuver himself under Lance’s arm, lifting it up to drape it over his own shoulders. Keith’s arms encircled him from the side and he felt a kiss pressed against his bare shoulder.

“Go back to sleep,” Lance tried again. Keith muttered something in response, tightening his hold on his boyfriend.

They  were silent, Keith waiting for Lance’s body to relax and for him to slump into Keith's hold. Ever since they'd returned to Earth, Lance seemed to have difficulty letting himself accept the comfort of his boyfriend's embrace after a bad nightmare. He’d joked that it was his Cuban blood making him bottle it up but Keith just wanted to know why their roles seemed to be reversed in these situations. He understood now how frustrated Lance must have been when Keith wouldn't let him in to help him.

“It’s okay, baby blue,” Keith assured him, thumbs stroking gently over Lance’s sides. Lance looked down at the glass in his hand.

“No, it’s not.”

“Everyone gets nightmares. Even Shiro,” Keith continued, ignoring Lance’s input. “It’s normal, Lance. It’s okay to be scared sometimes. It doesn’t mean you’re not brave.”

“It’s not okay,” Lance repeated, lips tight as he still refused to look at Keith. “I want you to be able to rely on me and feel safe with me but I can’t stop acting like a baby!”

His voice got louder and louder, finally tossing the glass onto the floor on the last word. Any harder and it probably would have shattered against the hardwood. As it was, the glass merely made a thumping noise.  
Keith still flinched on reflex, momentarily jerking away from Lance.

“Shit! I’m sorry!” Lance’s voice was still a little too loud but Kieth just smiled, moving closer again.

“I know. It’s okay.” His voice was soft, trying to cue Lance in to lowering his own tone.

No, it really wasn’t okay. Lance knew about Keith's reflexes to sudden noises and raised voices, especially at moments like this when his nerves were already rattled and he was tired. It only made him feel worse. Groaning, Lance hung his head.

“I think I’m gonna sleep on the couch,” he muttered, lifting his head. He made a move to pull away from Keith but his boyfriend tightened his hold on him in a blind panic.

“No! Don’t go!” Keith cried.

Lance turned to blink at him and clearly saw how wide and terrified Keith's eyes were. “Hey, baby, it’s okay,” Lance murmured, shifting closer. He cupped the side of Keith's face, thumb gently stroking over his cheek. “I’m not going far.”

“Don’t go,” Keith pleaded again, more quietly. “I can’t sleep without you… Please….” His voice trailed off towards the end, eyes lowering to the blanket.

“What does it matter?” Lance asked bitterly. “I can’t even make you feel safe. Not like this.”

“Of course I feel safe with you,” Keith whispered, He leaned forward enough that his nose brushed Lance’s. “You’re the only person I _can_ feel totally safe with.”

Lance scoffed.

“It’s true,” Keith insisted, still speaking softly. “I’ve seen you in action a million times. I’ve seen you come through when it counts and I know you’ll always protect me when I need it. You always have.”

Lance said nothing but he seemed to be mulling over what Keith had said. He really hoped that was true. He knew that Keith was right, he would always protect him and Keith would always have his back as well but the fear just made him feel so weak and useless sometimes.

“It’s okay, baby blue,” Keith insisted for what felt  like the thousandth time that night. Lance finally allowed himself to be brought into his boyfriend's arms.

It was another twenty minutes before they both lay back down, curled around each other.

“I was thinking…” Keith whispered into the dark, fingers carding through Lance’s hair. “Shiro got a service dog. Do you think we should get a dog?”

“A service dog?” Lance frowned. He could feel Kieth shrug.

“Any dog. We have the space now. We have each other so we’re lucky but...Shiro says she really helps him when he feels like he can’t talk to another person or just wants someone to sit quietly with him. He said he takes cues from her. When he feels nervous and jittery he watches how calm she is as reassurance that there’s nothing happening.”

Lance wasn’t against the idea of getting a dog by any means but he always thought Keith was more  of a cat person.

“Just something to think about,” Keith murmured before closing his eyes. Lance felt another kiss to his temple as the familiar fingers continued stroking through his hair.

He fell asleep to the sound of soft humming in his ear.

XXXX

_“You don’t want to turn on the TV?” Keith asked, tilting his head upwards to look at Lance._

_“Nah.” Lance smiled as he turned his head just a little bit, chin nudging Keith's temple. “This is more relaxing.” The truth was, he didn’t give a quiznack what they were doing as long as he Keith was cuddling with him. No matter how long it had been, Lance could still remember when such a  simple thing was a struggle for them. Now it felt so natural, so easy to put their arms around each other, take the other's hand or brush their fingers through the other's hair whenever they felt like it_

_Keith smiled in response, that smile that Lance knew meant he wanted a kiss. He didn’t have to move much with Keith’s head already on his shoulder and tilted towards him. Lance simply closed the last bit of space between them and pressed his lips against Keith’s in a soft, chaste kiss._

_Satisfied, Keith turned back towards the window. He tapped his fingers idly against his mug, the silver ring making a soft clicking noise. Lance glanced down at it, shifting to hold the handle of his mug into the other hand and resting it on the back of the couch._

_Keith hummed when he felt Lance’s hand on his own, finger tip tracing the ring. Keith held his finger out so his husband could fiddle with it, spinning it so the blue stone face forwards._

_“Remember our wedding, Kitten?” Lance smiled nostalgically._

_“Of course,” Keith scoffed._

_They’d had a traditional Catholic service to appease Lance’s family and Keith's mother had come with several blade members. The crying galra had almost rivaled the loud sobs of Lance’s abuela but not quite._

_Lance just laughed and playfully nipped his ear. “Okay, smart ass. Well, do you remember my proposal?”_

_Keith groaned, tilting his head forward so his hair flopped over his face. Lance laughed at the response and made as though he was going to dig his phone out of his back pocket. “I still have the video if you need a refresher.”_

_“Please, no,” Keith groand again. He shifted closer to his husband, burying his face in Lance’s neck. “Are you ever going to let me live that down?”_

_“Sorry, babe,” Lance chuckled and kissed the top of his head. “No dice.”_

XXXX

Keith had always like the outdoors.

He was glad that the McClain family lands were outside the city and while the beach was always a nice place to spend a day with his boyfriend, hiking the cliffs above was nice too. The only sounds were birds and other animals, including their dog Caramel.

She was a sweet brown lab and newfie mix with expressive light brown eyes that inspired her name and a huge nose she was currently nudging into Keith's hand until he smiled and lifted it to pet her large head. Not knowing her own strength and size, she wiggled against him in her excitement, leaning up to Keith's leg and gazing at him with such an open adoration that it would have made Keith uncomfortable if he wasn't so used to seeing the same look on his boyfriend’s face.

“Woah, girl!” Keith laughed, patting her large side. She made a noise somewhere between a whine and a bark that Lance insisted was her talking.

“Are you trying to push my boyfriend over the edge?” Lance teased her. He came up beside them, patting the dog’s head before reaching to link his fingers with Keith’s.

“Maybe she wants you to herself,” Keith joked.

Lance laughed harder than the comment warranted. It was an inside joke between them that Keith would pretend he wasn’t as infatuated with Caramel as Lance. Even though he’d been the one to suggest a dog.

While it was true that Lance had seen her first at the dog shelter, much thinner and more fearful than she was now, Keith had fallen in love at first sight. She wasn’t a trained service dog of course, but Caramel didn’t need the training. She was a natural. She knew when they needed a friend and she knew when they needed a distraction and she knew when they needed time alone together.

Caramel barked and ran over as Lance’s sister Veronica approached. “I’m gonna go up ahead a bit,” she told them, nodding her head towards the trail.

Lance nodded, exchanging some sort of look with her. Keith didn’t really know what it meant but by now he was used to the McClain siblings not needing to talk when they could express their thoughts with a single look. He just turned back to the view and took a deep breath of the fresh air..

“C’mon, Caramel,” Veronica whistled and the dog came running to follow her up the path.

Lance watched them go before turning to his boyfriend. “So, just you and me.”

“You gonna push me off?” Keith teased, the corner of his mouth quirked up in a small smirk. Lance laughed, tugging Keith closer.

“Not a chance, babe.”

Keith laughed and let himself be kissed. They stayed there for a few moments, arms circling each other and looking out at the ocean. Keith still wasn’t sure how his life had turned into this but he wasn’t about to start complaining.

“Should we get going?” he asked, taking half a step out of Lance’s embrace.

“Yea, just one minute. I have to do something first,” Lance nodded. He dropped his hands from around Keith and bent down on one knee. Keith took a few steps back to let him tie his shoe. He turned to look out at the ocean again, listening absently to Lance’s shuffling.

There was silence for a moment before Lance asked, “Keith?” He was clearly trying to hold back laughter.

“What?” Keith asked, turning and shoving his hands in his pockets. “You done with your shoe?”

Lance was still down on one knee, looking up at him with undisguised amusement. Keith’s eyes belatedly moved from his boyfriend’s face to the object in his hands before snapping back up again. His mouth opened and closed before he seemed to understand.

“Oh, very funny,” Keith huffed.

“What?” Lance asked, surprise taking over his face for a minute.

“The fake ring? You’re pretending to propose.”

Lance glanced down at the ring before looking back up at Keith. “It’s real.”

Keith’s mouth opened and closed again.

“Keith Kogane, number one paladin of my heart and love of my life, will you be my space ranger partner for the rest of our lives?”

Keith blinked at him, his mouth forming a ‘yes’ before he stopped himself. “You’re not going to say, ‘got yea!’ when I say yes are you?” Keith asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Lance was trying really hard not to laugh now. “NO! Do you really think I would do that?”

“Maybe,” Keith shrugged.

“So I can make fun of the fact that you want to marry me?!” Lance exclaimed. He was losing the battle with his laughter but someone else lost first.

“Oh my god! This is the worst proposal ever!” Veronica’s voice came laughing from the cover of the trees, phone out as she was clearly trying to record the proposal.

“Oh my god,” Keith breathed, finally realising Lance was telling the truth. “Oh my god.” Keith covered his face in his hands. “Oh my _god_ ….Lance!”  
Lance laughed from where he was still kneeling down, holding out the ring. “Can you just give me an answer? You’re kinda killing me here. I’m not just talking about my knee, but yea that’s not feeling too great either. I was actually super nervous and I wanted to do this for a few months but I didn’t know what you would think about this? You didn’t seem to want to talk about it whenever I dropped hints so yea...If it’s a no go  that's cool too. I mean, it’s fine, well obviously of course it’s fine-”

“Yes!” Keith shouted, his face tomato red. “Yes! Please stop talking right now, oh my god! Yes, I’ll marry you!”

Lance beamed, standing and in one smooth motion slid the ring onto Keith’s finger before pulling him into his arms. “Oh thank god,” he breathed out with a shaky laugh. “Do you think you could say that one more time?”

“Yes!”

XXXX

_“Your whole family laughed at me when they watched that video,” Keith pouted, shrinking down against his husband._

_“Can you blame them?’ Lance raised an eyebrow as he carded his fingers through Keith's hair._

_The dark haired man was about to respond when padding footsteps had them both turning to the doorway. Caramel stood there expectantly, giving a slight wag of her tail until Lance pated the couch and she bounded over to jump up beside them._

_“Settle down, girl,” Lance chidded affectionately as she got herself comfy. The large dog thumped herself down on the available sofa space with a heavy sigh and leaned her weight against Lance._

_“Ah, surrounded by may favorite cuddle partners,” Lance grinned to himself. It made Keith smile too. They laid there all together, listening to the rain fall and revealing in the love and warmth before Lance spoke again._

_“You know, I’m still really surprised about you thinking I would actually make fun of you for wanting to marry me,” he mused._

_“I know, I know,” Keith rolled his eyes. “It was stupid…”_

_He’d known that it had kind of hurt Lance’s feelings but Keith had assured his husband that it clearly said more about Keith's fucked up thoughts than Lance himself._

_“It’s just that, all hints aside, we had that conversation only like...what? A week or two before?” Lance glanced down at Keith, brow furrowed in thought._

_Absently, Keith reached up and traced the scar with the the tip of his finger again before leaning up to kiss his cheek._

_“Yea, I know,” Keith shrugged. “What can I say? You knew I was kind of an idiot when you started dating me.”_

XXXX

Lance wondered if he was reading too much into things again. It wouldn’t be the first time and he was sure it wouldn't be the last either.

He was eyeing Keith, watching the other man unpacking the groceries they’d just gotten. Keith glanced up as Lance dumped the last load on the kitchen counter.

“That the last of it?” Keith asked, inclining his head towards the bags.

“Yep,” Lance replied. He still didn’t move, leaning against the counter. Keith finished up rearranging the fridge to get everything to fit and turned back to his boyfriend. His face instantly changed into a frown that was honestly more like a cute pout. Lance smiled.

“What are you smiling about you lazy ass?” Keith asked but there was no bite to his words.

Lance only laughed and Keith made a show of rolling his eyes, hip checking Lance out of the way to start unloading the bags he still hadn't touched.

“What took you so long out there anyway? Waiting until I’d unpacked everything already?”

“But you know where everything goes better than I do,” Lance smirked, biting at his bottom lips when Keith only grumbled under his breath. He finished putting the last few groceries away and handed Lance the empty bags to put under the sink.

“Actually, I was talking to tia Maya,” Lance said as he took the bags and followed Keith’s silent instruction. “She wanted me to thank you for changing out the thermostat in her car the other day.”

“It was no problem,” Keith said automatically. He wasn't facing him but Lance knew Keith well enough to picture the blush perfectly. “I figured that was the problem. Would have taken them an hour at the shop to diagnose when I could just do it ten minutes.”

“Still though,” Lance shrugged, coming up behind his boyfriend and wrapping his arms around him from behind. He squeezed Keith tight around the waist, bringing him close against his chest. “She appreciated it. So do I.”

“You?”

That finally got Keith to look at him, abandoning his attempt to hide his red face. He raised one thick, dark eyebrow at him. Lance nodded, brushing hair back from Keith's forehead and kissing that same eyebrow.

“Me,” he agreed.

“Why?” Keith asked, sounding suspicious. Lance laughed, spinning him around in his arms to face him. He’d grown another two inches or so, giving him a little height on Keith that he liked to use to his full advantage. Kissing him on the forehead for example, which he did now, loving the way Keith's face got even redder.

“Because,” Lance explained as though it were the simplest thing in the world. “You took time to help my aunty. I appreciate that and I appreciate that you’re coming out of your shell and letting yourself be a part of my family.”

Keith blinked at him before tilting his head. “By changing a thermostat?”

Lance laughed so hard he snorted, making Keith smile and chuckle, even though he still didn’t quite get the joke.

“When you first got here, don’t you remember how hesitant you were to get to know everyone? Like you weren’t sure if you were gonna stay? I know you haven't said anything and maybe I’m reading too much into it but…” Lance paused, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “It feels like you’ve accepted us.”

“Of course,” Keith said quickly. “I was just worried that...well you know how I am. How I was about the house…” He trailed off, glancing around the kitchen. It was coming along nicely but they were still working on the decorating part. Luckily Lance actually enjoyed it and Keith just liked walking around stores holding hands and arguing about different pieces.

“I know,” Lance smiled affectionately as he reached forward again, placing his hands on Keith’s hips. He seemed to be waiting for Keith to continue.

“I was afraid they _knew_ , that they could see I wasn’t...wasn’t good enough for you I guess. And not want me to be part of their family. I haven’t had a lot of people who wanted me to stay but I never cared that much before. Most foster homes were more or less the same. Some were better than others It’s just weird...for me to think about a place as mine or admit that I want to stay somewhere. It always makes leaving harder,” Keith finished, looking incredibly embarrassed.

Even though his heart was hurting, Lance kept his face neutral, nodding his head. He knew all this of course, having been with Keith for long enough for the dark haired boy to open up and of course Lance could read between the lines. Still, he encouraged Keith to open up, express his thoughts and feelings as much as possible. At first it was like pulling teeth but by now Keith had gotten used to it.

“I love you and want you to be part of my family,” Lance said softly, brushing Keith’s hair back. “I had lots of people tell me they could see how much I love you when I look at you and it makes them look at you that way too.”

Keith flushed, starting to stutter something out but Lance interrupted.

“My abuela said you look at me the same way too,” Lance flushed, clearing his throat. It was so much easier for him to tell Keith how much he cared about him. It was entirely different to acknowledge that Keith felt the same. It was still something that Lance had difficulty wrapping his head around. Keith nodded his head in confirmation, his shoulders relaxing.

“She said that’s why she likes you so much,” Lance continued. “My mama too. Because they can see that you care about me a lot and you have a good heart and you make me happy. That's all they care about.”

“They don’t have very high standards,” Keith deadpanned.

Lance laughed, his hands tightening on Keith’s hips. His boyfriend smiled, moving closer into Lance’s embrace. “Hey, they’ve never approved of anyone else like that so those qualities are more rare than you think.”

Keith raised a disbelieving eyebrow and Lance snorted, kissing the corner of his mouth. Keith smiled, closing the last bit of space between them to rest his cheek on Lance’s shoulder. His hand automatically came up to cup the back of Keith’s head. There was a moment of comfortable silence between them that Lance just had to take advantage of to tease Keith some more.

“In fact, my abuela likes you so much she won’t stop asking me about when we’re going to give her great grandchildren,” he said off handedly but Keith could feel the smirk.

His face grew red not only at the comment, but remembering when they announced they were building a house together and Lance's brother Marco had joked that kids would be the next step. Mrs. McClain’s head had snapped towards them so quickly they’d both worried about her neck but her expression was bright and hopeful. She was disappointed when Lance was quick to deny it. Keith hadn’t said anything, just awkwardly looked away.

Lance had pulled them aside, with permission from Keith, and explained that it was a touchy subject for them after losing their first child that had been conceived before they fully understood Keith’s alien biology.

Of course his family had been understanding and wanted to comfort them both but Lance had asked them not to say anything around Keith. They’d kept their words so far and hadn’t mentioned it. Which meant Lance was the only one that received the pleas from his Mama and abuela. Not that he minded. It was something that he found himself wondering more often lately. They’d been lucky so far, whatever was in the birth control the Alteans made for Keith had done the trick and now they had more access to contraceptives, it hadn’t been an issue.

“That’s very modern of her,” Keith attempted to joke. “I thought she would have been telling you to wait for marriage.”

Lance chuckled, burying his face in Keith’s hair. “Yea, well. We’ve already done things out of order anyway, what with moving in together and everything.”

“True,” Keith acknowledged. They stayed like that a few more moments before Keith reluctantly pulled away. “I should start dinner.”

“I’ll do it,” Lance assured him, waving Keith off to the living room with a teasing grin. “You unpacked all the groceries after all.”

“Yea, I did,” Keith agreed pointedly as he hopped up onto one of the tall chairs at the kitchen island. He always liked watching Lance cook. He teased the Cuban man about how he never stood still and more or less danced around the kitchen while he worked, complete with music.

Lance grinned and winked at him as Keith turned on the radio they kept in the kitchen for just that purpose. He worked in silence other than the Latin music and his own humming, stealing glances at Keith every now and again.

“Hey, babe?”

“Hm?” Keith asked, already looking at him.

“Would you actually be cool with getting married?”

Keith’s cheeks turned just the lightest shade of pink as he shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear casual. “Well, let’s put it this way. I wouldn't say no.”

XXXX

_Lance smiled as he set his now empty mug down and lifted Keith's hips, settling him easily on his lap. Keith's back nestled against Lance chest, warm and comfortable._

_“Idiot is a strong word,” Lance mused, kissing Keith’s jaw. “But either way, I’m glad I started dating you.”_

_His hands slid under the blanket still snug around Keith's body. He rested his palms softly against Keith's swollen stomach and sighed in contentment, burying his face in Keith's hair._

_He couldn't imagine anything better than this. He had the perfect husband that he loved with his whole heart, snuggling up against him in the perfect house that they’d built together with the sweetest dog he’d ever met and would soon be celebrating the birth of their first child._

_Well, technically not their first…_

_There would always be a piece of their hearts that never fully healed after what had happened but they were trying. This pregnancy was a lot easier on both of them but it still brought forward a lot of emotions and regrets about what could have been if they had just-_

_Lance cut off his own negative thoughts, feeling Keith’s hands on top of his own. He knew that Keith still felt horribly guilty about what had happened to their baby and nothing Lance said or did was going to change that but they also weren’t going to let any of that taint the happiness that Keith’s pregnancy gave them._

_They were ready now, they knew what they were doing (relatively), they had a large support base and most important, they were still madly and unapologetically in love._

_“I’m glad you started dating me too, baby blue,” Keith murmured. He turned his head and didn’t even have to ask for Lance to kiss him soundly on the mouth._

  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith have a baby!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't know all that much about babies, pregnancy or birth but Keith and the baby are galra so that's why some stuff may be weird. This chapter is the official end of the series! I know I said that before but I actually mean it this time! I got accepted int a masters of counselling psychology so I will probably be busy with that for now. But I did make a playlist especially for this series if you wanted to take a [listen](https://8tracks.com/brittyboo32/baby-blues)

Keith lowered himself carefully into the bed, shuffling over against the wall and beginning the exhausting process of maneuvering pillows around to get comfortable. Even as he went through the motions, his mind was preoccupied. 

Keith was scared. He was never going to let Lance know that though. He couldn’t. For one thing, showing weakness still gave him a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach and for another he wanted to be strong for his husband. 

It wasn’t like Lance was going to admit to his own uncertainty either. He never told Keith about his discussions with Krolia but she’d let something slip the other day, incorrectly assuming that Keith knew Lance had been asking her about the normal course of galra pregnancies.He hadn’t said anything about seeking advice from his own mother either but Keith had seen the way they spoke in hushed tones and then went silent as soon as he entered the room. 

Lance was scared and he was doing everything he could to be prepared. Which honestly should have made Keith glad that at least one of them was taking initiative. Keith, for his part, had decided to bury his head in the sand. Every new thing that happened to his body he accepted as the norm and put it out of his mind. Lance would check, double check and triple check to make  _ sure _ it really was a totally normal development. However, there was still the uncertainty of being a half galra, half human hybrid. There really wasn’t much information to go off and Lance’s research was based almost solely on full galra birth and pregnancy with some information on half galra and of course, Krolia’s personal experiences. 

Keith never would have predicted that Lance and Krolia would voluntarily spend time together one on one so he should have been pleased. On some level he was but he was also nervous. He didn’t want to know if something was wrong. He wanted to live in his blissfully ignorant state of denial. After losing their first child, Keith didn’t think he could handle it again. 

They waited so long to try again, both still nervous, scared to put themselves through it. Every step of the way they were anxious but the joy and anticipation every time they saw their baby on the screen or felt a little kick overshadowed any doubts they may have had. 

Keith smiled as he heard Lance shut off the water in the bathroom, still singing to himself as he brushed his teeth and got ready for bed. Keith had finally managed to get himself situated when Lance came back into the bedroom. He pushed his hair back with one hand, smiling that soft grin he seemed to reserve for Keith. Before the dark haired man could say anything, Lance was turning off the light and leaping onto bed beside him. Keith giggled, wiggling away as Lance landed playful kisses all over his face. 

“Lance!” Keith giggled. “Stop it!” 

Lance chuckled, continuing kissing his face before he stopped and allowed Keith to get comfortable again. This time with his head in Lance’s lap as his husband sat up against the headboard. 

“Going to read?” Keith asked.

“Yea, just for a bit,” Lance replied, turning the tablet on. Keith nodded, settling his head back in Lance’s lap. Instantly his husband’s hand was in his hair, stroking gently and sending Keith off to sleep. As the due date approached this had become the norm. Keith was finding that he was tiring out faster and faster. He was going to bed earlier each night and Lance would always curl up with him but stay awake for a few more hours to read. Keith appreciated his presence, finding it hard to relax enough without his husband close. That was apparently normal and Krolia did say that galra tended to almost hibernate to conserve their strength closer to the birth. Keith had already experienced his nesting instincts, hence the pile of pillows and blankets as well as many others stashed in closest all over the house. 

_ “Just in case!” Lance had insisted. “Want you to be comfortable at all times, babe. You’re carrying precious cargo.”  _ The way he winked and touched Keith's stomach with a brush of his palm had lit the dark haired man up from the inside out.

As Keith slept, Lance would stay up reading every bit of information Allura, Pidge and Krolia managed to find and send to his tablet. At first Keith was not a fan, knowing that Lance needed his sleep and not wanting him to get worked up. However, gathering new information didn’t tend work Lance up like it did with Keith. Lance calmly processed everything, even writing down questions to ask Keith later. That sometimes felt like an interrogation but Keith was more used to it now. There was a time he would have balked and completely clammed up with someone asking him how he felt and if this particular thing hurt or not, if he was feeling cramps in this or that body part, if he’d noticed different cravings. 

Keith tried to keep things to himself but he reminded himself that Lance needed to know, that he was going through the same emotional turmoil but unable to do much for most of the pregnancy. That was the hardest part for him, watching Keith  struggle more and more with cravings and aches, even walking, bending down or reaching for things was difficult, as was dealing with Keith himself. 

_ “Keith, you need to let me help you,” Lance insisted. He snatched the towel off the floor and folded it neatly, adding it to the stack of clean laundry Keith was working on.  _

_ “I can do it.” Keith sighed, still red faced from just starting a crouch to retrieve the towel. It took a more time and effort just for the simplest things lately. _

_ “I know you can,” Lance frowned. He took his frustrations out on the laundry, snatching another towel and folding it in record speed. Keith was actually impressed he managed to do it so neatly too. “That’s not the issue. It just takes more effort. I don’t want you to strain yourself when I can do it for you.” _

_ “I need to do things for myself,” Keith insisted. He still kept his voice calm, reasonable. _

_ “Yea and you do,” Lance agreed. “You do lots for yourself and not just for yourself but for the baby too.” He tossed the towel he’d just grabbed back into the bin with more force than necessary and spread his arms out in a defeated expression. “You’re doing literally everything for the baby on your own at this point. You’re going to be doing all the work delivering it too. Even after that you’re going to be doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to feeding. You’re growing a whole person right now and there’s nothing I can do to help. You’re hungry and tired and sore all the time and I wish I could take that on for you myself but I can’t so can you please just let me pick up some freaking towels for you at least?” Lanced waved his hands in the way that Keith recognized meant he wanted to explain himself better but was too emotional to find the right words.  _

_ “Sssh, I get it,” Keith assured him. He placed his hands on Lance’s shoulders until his husband met his eyes. Keith smiled, rubbing his upper arms. “I get what you’re saying. I guess I just didn’t realise….I had no idea you were feeling like that.”  _ _   
_ _ Lance only shrugged. “I don’t blame you and I don’t want you to feel bad or anything,” he insisted. “I know you don’t like people babying you or whatever but that’s not what I’m trying to do. I want to help. I just want to be useful. I wasn’t there for you before. You were doing all of it alone and even though it wasn’t for that long and we got through….what happened together I still… I just feel bad about it. I want to be there this time, through all of it. It’s not out of some obligation or anything, I really want to so please just let me do things. Let me help, let me spoil you sometimes and rub your feet and bring you breakfast in bed and for goodness sake please let me do the laundry next time! I don’t want you carrying a heavy basket up and down the freaking stairs!” _

_ Keith couldn’t help it, he had to laugh just a little at Lance. He looked about ready to start pulling his hair out.  _

_ “Keith,” Lance pouted, making his husband chuckle again.  _

_ “Okay, Lance. I get it. I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking about it that way,” Keith held up his hand in defense. “I didn’t realise that was how you felt. I will let you help more, okay?” _

_ Lance eyed him as though waiting for a but. “Okay,” he nodded in agreement.  _

_ Keith smiled, holding his arms out for a hug in a show of peace. Lance’s expression immediately changed to a goofy grin as he stepped into Keith's arms. It was rather awkward with the belly in the way but they managed it, both of them laughing.  _

“You ready for tomorrow?”

Lance’s soft voice broke Keith out of his reminiscing. 

“Yea,” he murmured, glancing up. Lance was still looking at his tablet. Keith snuggled back down again. “Are you?”

“Yea.” Lance’s voice was soft but there was so much happiness in it that Keith couldn’t help but smile. He went to sleep thinking about how tomorrow would be the last ultrasound before the baby came. 

XXXX

The first ultrasound was nothing short of a gong show. Keith and Lance stupidly hadn’t considered the fact that this was not a normal pregnancy in terms of human knowledge and had of course set up their appointment at the closest hospital. 

It was all very exciting so it was no surprise everyone wanted to come. Shiro came to visit around that time, wanting to check in with them and Keith’s mother did as well. Lance’s family were very eager to be a part of the unborn baby’s life and flocked to the hospital. 

The technician’s face was priceless when everyone attempted to cram into the small room. 

“Um...this is...usually just family…” he stated uncertainty, looking around at each face. His eyes settled on Keith’s hand gripping Lance’s tightly and Lance’s comforting smile as he ran his thumb over the back of Keith’s hand. Before he could say anything, Lance’s grandmother interrupted. 

“Si!” she nodded brightly and pointed to Lance and Keith. “Mi nietos!”

“And I’ll be the baby’s abuela,” Lance’s mother added. 

“Yes, I am also a grandmother,” Krolia spoke up. 

“Aunt!” Veronica chimed in. 

“Uncle!” Marco pointed to himself.

“Me too,” Luis waved a hand. 

“I’m another uncle,” Shiro added with a shrug. 

“I’m the father of the father,” Lance’s dad joked, making his wife elbow him.

“Okay….” the technician said slowly. He tried to avoid eye contact with Krolia as much as possible. Aliens weren’t exactly news anymore but she was pretty intimidating. “I was thinking more...immediate family. Just the father and maybe if you want your mom here?” He looked at Keith, waiting for an answer. Lance squeezed his hand gently. 

“Can I have both moms?” Keith asked quietly. 

“Um…” the technician glanced at Krolia and Mrs. McClain, watching him expectantly Keith wasn’t sure which one he should be more afraid of. “Of course. Maybe they can just stand behind you. Yea, like that. Perfect.” He seemed quite relieved as everyone else slowly filed from the room. 

Lance’s abuela stopped and tapped the man firmly on the shoulder. “I want a picture,” she instructed, pointing to the screen. 

“Right! Yes, of course,” his gaze trailed over the rest of the group, hesitating at the door. “You’ll all get pictures. Promise.” That seemed good enough for everyone, finally taking their leave. 

Keith’s nerves still didn’t let up. He glanced at the technician, wondering how much he should say about his condition. His paperwork had the basics but he wasn’t sure what else he might need to tell him. He could tell the man was also a little nervous, probably never having dealt with a half galra before. 

“Can you lift your shirt up, please?” he asked with unwavering professional courtesy. Keith obliged and Lance smiled encouragingly, looking amused as the gel was spread over Keith's stomach.

“So, you’re half galra, half human, correct?’ the man asked. He adjusted his thick black rimmed glasses that magnified his large brown eyes and blinked at Keith. 

“Yea,” Lance answered for him. He could tell Keith just wanted to concentrate on the feeling of the gel and the device running over his stomach, searching. “But everything should be the same for the first half of the pregnancy.” He glanced at Krolia for confirmation. After they found out Keith was pregnant, Lance was never more grateful for her presence. She at least had some experience with galra pregnancy and anatomy as well at familiarity with human reproduction. 

“I’ve read a bit about it,” the technician replied, eyes glued to the screen. “It’s fascinating. The uterus is very very tiny in males and the ovary is dormant, until hormones trigger the secondary sex organs to begin functioning, right? Imagine the adaptive capabilities and- Oh, there we are.”

He turned to Lance and Keith with a small smile “There’s your baby. Doesn’t look like much now but everything appears as it should be.”

Krolia and Mrs McClain leaned over as far as they could to see the screen. Lance’s mom gasped and gripped her son’s shoulder with an excited smile.

“I know, Ma! I know,” Lance laughed, unable to contain his happiness. 

Keith watched Krolia’s face, taking in the way her features softened and her eyes traced the form of the small lump on the screen.

She didn’t have to say anything, he knew. He could read it in her eyes. 

The next ultrasound took place in a Garrison run hospital, teaming with all sorts of different races of alien as well as humans.There were many doctors who specialized in cross species pregnancies, which was a relief to Lance. Keith could tell just by the set of his shoulders the first time they sat down with a galra technician. She was very bubbly and very open, explaining how she was also half galran and talking about her own pregnancy. It set Keith at easy as well, hearing that someone knew what they were taking about and he wasn’t forced to give a bunch of information. Her name was Ezna and they requested her each time. When they left, Keith felt relaxed and at ease. Lance seemed to be as well which was saying something considering he was usually the more tense of the two lately. 

Maybe it helped that Keith was letting him in more,letting him take on more responsibility. He had assumed that would only add to the weight on Lance’s shoulders but he seemed to like being more involved and depended on.

XXXX

The birth was a lot more intense than Lance had been expecting. He knew that it wasn’t going to be quick or anything and he’d read about a thousand medical papers about galra birth but seeing it was different. 

He knew that Keith would be in at least some pain, even with the space drugs and all the technology available to them. He thought he could handle that but he may have been wrong. Keith gripped his hand so tightly it wouldn’t be surprising if he had some broken bones after that but Lance barely felt anything. His voice stayed calm, reminding Keith to breath and offering encouragements, brushing his hair back and wiping the sweat away. Even when Keith snapped that he was breathing Lance didn’t lose his cool, didn’t let on that all he could think about was losing their first baby and almost losing Keith. 

He knew that this was normal and the doctor assured them both that everything was going great, just one more and then one more and then he could hear it. The baby didn’t cry exactly. It was more of a snuffling sound but Lance swore he felt his heart stop and then start again, beating in a new rhythm, one that was in synq this new life form’s. Keith stared at him, eyes wide and breathing heavily, Lance stared back. 

“It’s a boy,” the doctor announced as he cleaned the baby carefully and wrapped a blanket around the tiny figure before handing him to Keith. 

Keith looked down at the baby, letting it’s tiny head rest on his bare collarbone. The tiny fists and feet jerked awkwardly as he got used to all the space. Lance watched, the relief welling in his chest and choking him until tears pricked at his eyes. 

Keith looked up when he heard the choked sob from his husband. He smiled softly, head resting back against the pillow. He carefully lifted the tiny baby, turning him to face Lance and wrapping his arms around him, placing a kiss on top of the tiny little head. 

“Look, it’s your Papa. He’s been so excited to finally meet you. Say hello.” Keith carefully lifted one teeny little fist and waved it in Lance’s direction. Lance bit back another sob as he leaned over Keith and kissed the baby’s forehead. 

“Hey there,” he whispered, cupping the tiny head in one hand and brushing a thumb across his cheek. “Your Dad and I have been looking forward to finally meeting our little angel.”

Keith smiled at him and Lance pulled back a bit to kiss him. “Good job, Samurai.”

“Mm, not so bad yourself, Sharpshooter,” Keith replied, letting his eyes close. 

Lance chuckled, stroking his hair back from his face until a nurse came by to take the baby for weighing and measuring. 

Lance extracted him carefully from Keith’s arms, wanting to let his husband sleep. “Be good, Diego. We’ll see you soon,” he whispered, kissing the baby’s forehead again before handing him over. The nurse smiled encouragingly, holding the baby securely in all four of her muscled arms. 

Lance followed her out the door, closing it carefully and made for the large and extremely loud group waiting to hear the news. 

All of team Voltron were there, laughing excitedly with a generous portion of Lance’s family, as well as Krolia and Kolivan. Everyone went silent as they saw Lance walk into the room. The force of what just happened, the impact on their lives was almost overwhelming. He’d spent the last few months secretly wondering if they were all going to walk out of this, wondering if he was going to lose his husband or his baby or both. 

“It’s a boy…” Lance said softly. Then more loudly, “it’s a boy!” He couldn’t help it then, he started sobbing, so relieved and so happy and so exhausted. 

Hunk was the first to reach him and squeezed him so hard Lance thought his lungs would burst. Hunk was sobbing too. Then Pidge was latching onto his waist, her face buried in his side. Shiro’s strong arm snaked around his shoulders and ruffled Lance’s hair. 

All the sound suddenly returned to the room, loud cheers and questions fired rapidly in all directions. Lance was grateful for his mother and Krolia getting everyone in line and scolding them to give Lance some space. 

Allura guided him to sit down and Coran brought a juice pack and an encouraging pat on the back. Allura’s warm hand on his own was comforting, as was his mother’s hand in his hair. 

When Lance was calm, he answered all the questions, yes Keith was fine, he was sleeping. Shiro and Krolia broke off from the group with Lance’s permission to go look in on Keith. 

“We picked a couple names. If it was a boy we decided on Diego Takashi Akira Kogane-McClain,” Lance smiled fondly. This set Hunk off into another crying fit and Pidge comfortingly patted his shoulder, sharing an amused look with Allura. Coran was trying and failing not to start crying as well.  

Of course he had to promise to bring the baby out for everyone to see. He refused to let everyone into Keith’s hospital room, not wanting to overwhelm him but assuring them all that they could visit in small groups.  

Krolia and Shiro returned after sitting with Keith for a half hour, still knocked out. But this time they returned with a brand new face. “Here he is,” Shiro beamed. Krolia lowered the bundle in her arms for everyone to get a good look.

“Dios mio!” Mrs. McClain exclaimed, hand over her heart. “He’s beautiful! Look at all that hair!” 

Krolia smiled fondly down at the bby and nodded. “Keith had hair like this when he was born,” he said quietly. Lance stared at her. She had talked with him and answered all of his questions about Keith’s birth, but he’d never heard her sound that fond before. Maybe she was like Keith, holding things inside and not wanting to show how anything affected them until someone came and broke down those walls. It looked like Diego had just taken a bulldozer to them. Understandably, she was reluctant to relinquish her hold on him but there were many more family members practically climbing over themselves to get the little bundle in their arms. 

Lance’s mom would have held him forever if Lance hadn’t been hovering over her shoulder. 

“I barely got to hold him at all and I’m his  _ father _ !” he pouted. “You’ve already had your own children and grandchildren.”

“Okay, okay,” she relented, carefully depositing Diego into Lance’s arms. 

He adjusted easily, the tiny bundle barely weighing a thing and the weight feeling so natural in his hold. For a moment he just stared at his son, unaware that the room was quieter than it had been since he’d announced Diego’s name. The baby’s eyes were closed and he seemed content, not at all bothered with being passed around by everyone and spoken to in Spanish, English, Japanese, even Galran and Altean. Probably a good sign considering that was going to be his life from now on. 

Lance couldn't help himself, his mind racing at thoughts of Diego’s life unfolding. Would he be multilingual? Would he looks more like him or like Keith? Would he start to develop any galra traits? Would he want to be a pilot like his dads or would he spend time with Pidge and Hunk working on tech and becoming an innovator? Would he want to explore the galaxies with Allura and Coran, join the coalition? Would he prefer to explore on his home planet, diving to the depth of the ocean as Lance had once dreamed of doing before he found space? Would he like surfing and laying out on the beach with his Papa or would he feel more at home in a garage getting his hands dirty with his Dad? Would he have patience like Shiro or be hot headed like Keith? Would he fall in love? Would he get his heartbroken? There were so many possibilities out there for him and Lance would get to watch him choose his path, be there at every step and help guide him like his own family had. 

He thought of Keith, lying next to him that one night, his hand over hs swollen stomach and cuddled into Lance’s shoulder. Thought of Keith retelling the story that Lance knew by heart, his mother leaving, losing his father and not knowing what to do, where to go. He knew the path this story took, Keith feeling lost and alone, joining the garrison and finding guidance from Shiro, losing him and losing himself. Feeling lost once again and scared but covering it with his anger. Lance listened to it carefully, hand trailing down Keith’s back in soothing motions. He stayed quiet as Keith trailed off, waiting for his husband to finish. 

_ “I don’t want that for our baby,” Keith had whispered quietly. “I want them to know someone is there for them, always. No matter what they choose to do or who they want to be.” _

Lance remembered smiling, remembered kissing Keith’s forehead and telling him that their child would never feel alone. Lance renewed that vow to himself and to Keith as he looked down at the tranquile face of their baby. He would never feel alone or afraid. 

XXXX

“Do you think he’s going to be scared of me?” Lance asked quietly. He was practically curled around Keith on the hospital bed. 

Keith had his shirt partially open with the baby curled up against his chest and suckling eagerly. Lance rested his chin on Keith’s shoulder, one arm around his husband’s back and his other  hand brushing thick black hair from the baby’s forehead. The noises he made were beyond adorable and Lance was transfixed. 

He was pulled out of it when Keith started laughing. The shaking of his body seemed to disturb Diego and he made a wincing face in response. Keith soothed his without a word and settled them both back against the reclined bed. Lance stared down at him and Keith blinked. 

“Oh, were you being serious?” Keith asked. “Sorry.” Only he didn’t sound sorry at all. Lance huffed in response but didn’t answer. 

“I think we both know you’re going to be the ‘fun dad’ and I’m going to have to keep you both in line,” Keith replied with a bitter grimace. 

“Um, hello! I was not the one with ‘behavioural issues’ who got booted from the Garrison for  _ physical violence _ ,” Lance huffed. “You’re clearly the ‘rebel dad’ here. You’re going to teach him not to trust ‘the man’ and give him a pocket knife when he’s like five.”

“My blade is not a  _ pocket knife _ ,” Keith huffed, blowing his bangs out of his face. He winced suddenly and Lance’s face grew concerned. 

“What? Is something wrong? Want me to get the doctor?” He asked, already moving to get off the bed. Keith extracted one arm to grip Lance’s shirt. 

“No, I’m just sore and I need to switch him,” Keith explained, gesturing to Diego. It was a careful and slow process, extracting the baby from one nipple and getting him to latch on to the other without crying. Lance watched it all carefully, marveling at them both. 

“Are you going to like...have to wear a bra?” Lance asked awkwardly.

Keith turned his head, giving Lance a glare. Keith knew that he would produce milk, had known it like he knew other scientific facts of life. Experiencing it was something else entirely. 

“Just asking,” Lance shrugged sheepishly. “I mean...You’ve kinda got-”

“They’re not boobs,” Keith cut him off quickly. “It’s more like...swelling…”

Lance shrugged again. He knew that Keith was a little sensitive when it came to the changes of his body. Lance didn’t think he had anything to be embarrassed about but he could understand it. His body certainly looked a lot different now than what they were used to. Keith was accustomed to being at a certain level of fitness and the last few months had left him struggling with basic movements. Lance finally talked him into prenatal yoga by offering to do it with him and Keith actually seemed to enjoy it. Though he would never say so.

There was a long moment of silence, the only sound in the room being Diego’s vigorous eating and soft sighs. Keith shifted him instinctively, frowning a little. “Why are you asking about scaring him?” Keith asked suddenly. He hadn't let it go, still finding the question strange and having a feeling that Lance wouldn't be the one to bring it up again. 

“You know,” Lance glanced to the side, showing his cheek with the scar and gestured at his face.

Keith stared at him.“You’re fucking kidding, right?”

“Hey, watch your language in front of the baby,” Lance chastised, miming covering his tiny ears. Keith just rolled his eyes and shifted Diego’s weight again. 

“If he can handle Kolivan and Krolia I think you’ll be fine,” Keith replied, rolling his eyes. “He was  _ literally  _ born surrounded by aliens. His grandmother is a large purple alien with yellow eyes. His godmother is going to be an alien Princess and his god father has an entire arm made of alien tech. I don’t think that his Papa having a small scar from his time spent as a defender of the universe is really going to faze him.”

“I guess,” Lance’s cheeks were red, a little embarrassed at having missed those fairly key aspects of his son’s life. “But...you know he is just a baby. He might not-”

“Lance,” Keith said in that warning tone that told Lance not to bother trying. “You’re being ridiculous. You know that. Stop worrying. Do you think he’s going to be scared of Shiro’s scar? Of the mark on my face?”

“Well...no…” Lance admitted sheepishly. 

Keith nodded his head. “Diego will love you. He already does.”

“Oh yea, and how do you know that?” Lance retorted jokingly. “He hasn’t said a word to me! Maybe he hates me.”

“Um, no,” Keith replied shortly. “Every time he heard your voice singing to him he’d stop kicking at me and settle down to let me sleep. I’m sure he’s glad to finally meet the man behind the voice. 

Lance smiled. “Yea, maybe you’re right.”

“I am,” Keith replied in a tone that clearly put an end to the debate. 

XXXX

They were both relieved when they were finally able to bring Diego home. Keith was recovering quickly after the birth but Lance could tell that his energy levels were depleting more quickly than usual. Which obviously made caring for an infant more difficult. At least they had a lot of help. Krolia moved into the inlaw suite and Shiro had his own bedroom now that he came to stay over at least once a week. Lance's mother and abuela were over every day. The rest of his family came to visit and drop off food or sit with the baby as often as they could. 

They had bought baby stuff themselves but there was really no need. They received more baby clothes and packs of diapers and toys from family and friends then they could even fathom needing. Everyone seemed eager to spoil the newest addition. 

“It’s always kind of like this,” Lance admitted sheepishly. “They’re excited!” 

It wasn’t just Lance’s family, but the paladins and Alteans as well. Diego seemed to enjoy Coran’s mustache and his entertaining stories. He liked pulling at Allura’s hair and stared at her while she squealed excitedly about how adorable he was. He seemed to quite like that. 

“Yea, takes after his Papa,” Lance grinned. 

The whole Holt family came to visit several times and Hunk brought his moms along to introduce them, winding up cooking everyone a huge meal in Lance and Keith’s fair sized kitchen.  

At first Keith seemed overwhelmed with the attention but Lance had been able to get him comfortable with accepting help and soon he was relieved when someone offered to take the baby and let him nap. That was of course if Lance and Caramel allowed them to. Lance hardly set Diego down since they brought him home and the dog never left his side. 

She seemed curious about the baby at first and after a week Lance let her meet him properly. Keith watched from his spot on the couch as Lance sat cross legged on the floor. Caramel stood at the entrance to the living room, eyes fixed on the bundle in his arms. She wagged her tail hopefully until Lance smiled and called her over. 

Caramel trotted excitely and stared at the baby. 

“Go ahead,” Lance encouraged her. “Meet your new baby brother, Diego. Isn’t he cute?” 

Keith snorted but there was a warmth in his chest that spread outwards, almost choking him up. He blamed it on his hormones still being out of whack and not on the fact that he was married to this beautiful idiot, that he finally had a real family of his own. 

Caramel wagged her tail again and sniffed at him. Diego scrunched up his face, wiggling as he felt her hot breath ghost across his face. Lance chuckled, adjusting the small cap on top of his head. 

“Are you going to be a good big sister and protect your little brother?” he teased her. 

Caramel didn’t know exactly what Lance was saying but she seemed excited about it anyway and made those whining noises that constituted her talking. 

“Good girl!” Lance laughed. 

She made a yipping sound and licked at the baby’s face. Diego scrunched his face again and kicked his legs. It looked like he might cry and his dads watched with bated breath before he relaxed again and flexed his tiny fingers against the blanket, smacking his lips contentedly. 

There was a brief pause before Lance started laughing loudly. Keith just watched the expression on his husband’s face, overjoyed beyond anything he’d felt before. 

XXXX

Despite how much they both loved Diego and how much they appreciated all the help, there was still something that just wasn’t sitting right with Lance and Keith. Neither of them wanted to come right out and say anything. It was way too awkward. 

Keith had never been that great about this sort of thing and he’d only gotten more self conscious during his pregnancy. Lance hadn’t said anything, which made Keith doubt his husband was having the same feelings. In Lance’s defense he really didn’t want to push. In fact he was perfectly happy spending time with his husband and son as Keith recovered and Diego grew. However, he couldn't deny that after a month of almost no sexual contact, Lance was feeling antsy. He recognised it but didn’t realise quite how bad it was until one evening after putting the baby down for the night. 

Lance kissed Diego and patted Caramel on the head before heading down the hallway to the master bedroom. A quick glance told Lance that his husband was still in the bathroom. 

“Keith?” Lance called softly through the door. He gave a short rap as a warning that he was coming in before opening the door. He hadn't thought much of it, having walked in and out the bathroom freely while Keith was soaking in the tub for years. During his pregnancy, Keith had found relief and comfort in a warm bath before bed. Lanec was always worried about him being in there too long so he would often stand at the sink,  applying his face creams while idly chatting with his husband to keep an eye on him. 

However, as Lance pushed the door open and caught sight of Keith stepping out of the tub, reaching for his towel, it suddenly hit him that he hadn’t seen Keith fully naked since Diego’s birth. For a very long minute, Lance stood in the doorway, cheeks red and mouth opening and closing. Keith looked startled at first but as Lance continued to gawk, Keith scowled. 

“Do you mind….?” the dark haired man raised an eyebrow as he started to draw the towel around him. 

“Nope,” Lance replied, still standing and staring.

“Lance,” Keith gave him a look. 

“Oh! You want me to…” Lance took a step back. “Right. Yep. I gotcha. Okay.” 

Keith was pretty sure he could still hear his husband mumbling to himself even after Lance had closed the door. Keith huffed and dried himself off, slipping into his pajamas. He stopped at the door, taking a breath before pushing it open. 

“Bathroom’s free,” He muttered.

Lance jumped up from where he was sitting on the bed. “What? The bathroom...Oh. Okay. Yep. The bathroom.”

Keith just stared at his husband as Lance babbled his way back into the bathroom. He glanced over his shoulder after the door closed, frowning slightly. 

Lance stood and stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. “What the fuck am I doing?” he asked himself before shaking his head. He knew exactly what he was doing. Making a complete idiot out of himself. Why was it so hard to just tell his husband he wanted him? He’d never had that problem before. Maybe because it had been a while and Keith hadn't given him any of the signals that he was used to. Like the way he’d subtly lean into Lance’s shoulder or look up at him through his lashes or the way he’d run a hand through Lance’s hair after a soft, lingering kiss. 

Lance shook his head. 

It wasn’t like they hadn’t had sex when Keith was pregnant. A lot of sex if he were being honest. Even though he wasn’t about to admit to it, Lance had considered the fact that he may have a pregnancy kink.He never would have thought that in his life before now. He’d only ever thought about cute babies whenever he saw a pregnant person, squealing in awe when he felt the baby kick. With Keith it was different though and he knew it had something to do with the fact that it was his baby. Keith had been more than willing to indulge him with little more than gentle nudging from Lance’s end. As he went through his evening bathroom routine, Lance remembered how hesitant he had been to push Keith too much and how Kieth confessed that it was hard for him to get in the mood when his body seemed so foreign to him with each passing day. It hadn’t taken more than some light petting and making out for Keith to feel comfortable with himself again, for the familiar desire to take over. It was great then, the sex amazing and very frequent. Keith’s hormones had been all over the place and he’d been so horny Lance almost had trouble keeping up. It was hard not to call up the memories of Keith on top of him, riding his cock with ease, eyes heavily lidded and head tipped back. His body drenched in sweat and skin glowing, Lance’s darker hands tracing over Keith's hips and resting on his swollen belly. 

“Shit,” Lance muttered to himself after realizing that his reminiscing had, unsurprisingly, gotten him hard. He bit his lip, weighing his options. He could quietly take care of it here in the bathroom as he had been for the past month, or he could take a chance and try to seduce his husband. Almost as soon as he had the thought, an image of Keith's hands in his hair, clawing at his back and gasping into his shoulder entered Lance’s head and his mind was made up. 

As Lance pushed the bathroom door open, he could see Keith's form under the covers. The window was open, blowing the curtains softly. Lance said nothing as he slid in behind his husband. Keith didn’t move or react at all until Lance’s arms curled gently around him. 

Making a soft sound, Keith shuffled back against Lance’s chest and squirmed into a comfortable position against his husband’s chest. He sighed after getting comfortable. Lanec held still, waiting until Keith stopped moving. His hand creeped just under the hem of Keith’s shirt, thumb caressing gently at the soft skin. Keith didn’t react other than a sigh. Lance carefully, slowly, let his hand creep up under Keith's shirt. An image of the stretch marks he’d gotten a flash of earlier entered his head and Lance moved his hand experimentally around Keith's lower stomach, trying to find them. Keith shifted, seeming to welcome the hands on him, pushing back against Lance until he suddenly stilled, tesnising in his husband’s arms. 

“Lance?”

“Yes, my love? Light of my life? My handsome husband? My darling half galra boy? Beautiful father of my gorgeous child?”

“Do you have a boner?”

Lance stifled a laugh or a groan in the other’s shoulder. Keith couldn’t tell which. “That depends…” he struggled to get out.   
“....Depends on what?” Keith asked, shifting to look over his shoulder. His motion inadvertently caused his ass to brush over Lance’s crotch again. 

“On if you want me to….?”

Keith was quiet for a moment. When he spoke his voice was soft and Lance almost missed it. 

“Okay.”

Lance frowned, about to ask if he heard him or not when Keith was shifting, turning around to face his husband and wrap an arm around his neck. Lance didn’t need to be told twice, diving into the kiss like a drowning man gulping in air. 

Keith wasn’t hesitant for long, his body pushing heavily against Lance’s, grinding against him and gripping him tight, holding him close and moaning into his mouth. Lance’s hand slid under his shirt, caressing his back before sliding down, down under Keith’s pajama pants and getting a handful of his firm ass. Keith made a pleasant sound and Lance groaned into his mouth. 

He wanted to tell Kieth to hold on, wait while he turned him onto his back and let his mouth roam his husband’s body, getting acquainted, filing away the changes that he hadn’t noted before. He wanted to run his tongue over the fading stretch marks, wanting to bite down carefully and hear Keith moan. He wanted to trail down between his legs, get him off with his mouth until Keith was begging and squirming under him, begging for his cock. 

Instead, he was barely able to mumble “condom…” and push away enough to reach for the bedside table. 

Sex with Keith while he was pregnant was a bit easier. He couldn't get pregnant any more than he had been but now he was off his special galra birth control pills for a little while longer.Not this time though. Now he just needed to get the condom and lube and... Finally! 

It was in his hand and he just had to open it, coat his fingers….That was easier said than done with Keith clinging to him, nipping and sucking at the spot behind his ear. Lance groaned as those lips trailed down his neck, down his chest, nibbling at his nipple. He almost dropped the bottle in his hand and heard Keith chuckle at his reaction. 

“That’s it, mister,” Lance growled, pushing Keith onto his back and straddling his hips. Keith looked up at him, expression excited and fond at the same time. Lance felt his heart skip a beat, sliding his finger inside….

He missed that, seeing Keith tilt his head back and gasp, his face read and eyes fluttering. LAnce savored it all, drank it in, mesmerized. He tried to take his time, but fuck Keith was so ready for him, his fingers easing inside with little resistance. He was so ready and Lance just couldn't wait. He reached over for the condoms, snatching one and trying to figure out how the fuck these things opened...

“You don’t mind?” Keith asked breathlessly. Lance stilled, blinking down at him. 

“What?” he asked stupidly. 

“The….” Keith paused, his eyes looking down around his hips and lower stomach. “They were worse before.”

Lance’s mind was drawing a blank, blinking at him as he desperately tried to switch gears. “The stretch marks?” he asked after a long and awkward pause. Keith nodded. 

“Keith. My buddy, my man. The light of my life. Father of my child. I don’t give a fuck if you grow a tail. I don’t care if you turn purple like your mom. You’re fucking hot and you’re my husband. You had my  _ baby _ ! If these teeny little marks are the reason I haven’t gotten to fuck you for a month I swear to all that is holy-”

Lance was cut off when Keith laughed. Fuck, was he ever beautiful when he laughed like that, those big shoulder shaking laughs where he threw his head back and his mouth opened wide. Lance loved how flushed he looked, how happy he seemed when he laughed like that. It was so much more frequent in the last few years but no matter how many times Lance saw it, he always got the same, intense pull in the pit of his stomach. 

Lance’s face softened as he leaned over his husband, kissing him gentle and loving. He pulled back, hand cupping Keith's face and rubbing his cheek with his thumb. 

“Keith, I-”

Whatever he was about to say was cut off by a wail from the baby monitor. Unfortunately, this was one of the few nights there was no one else in the house to check the baby. Lance groaned, letting his head fall onto his husband’s shoulder. “Nooo…”

Keith chuckled, gently stroking Lance’s hair. “C’mon. Let me get up,” he murmured. 

“No! Nope, no nope!” Lance said quickly. He leapt from the bed, making a gesture for Keith to stay. “I’m going to go change a poopy diaper in record time and then I am coming right back here and fucking you to within an inch of your life!”

Keith laughed as Lance backed out of the room. 

“Stay right there, babe. Prepare for an all night love making session. I am going to blow your freakin socks off!” Lance vowed before finally turning and heading quickly down the hallway. Keith's laughter followed him to the nursery and Lance smiled to himself as he pushed the door open. He was so lucky, so damn lucky. 

XXXX

As Diego grew, they began to get a glimpse of what he would look like. His hair stayed the same black shade it had been when he was born, thick and almost unruly.  His eyes started to darken, taking on a shade more similar to Keith’s. But his skin tone and facial features were undoubtedly Lance. 

“He looks exactly like you,” Keith insisted. He looked down at the squirming child in his arms, waving his favorite toy around. Of course it was one that Pidge had given him that would light up several different colours and made loud noises. Keith had thought it a little too advanced for him but Diego latched onto it immediately. 

He seemed happy enough, able to smile now and make soft cooing sounds. Keith smiled back, his expression fond and loving. Lance glanced over Keith's shoulder, chuckling as Diego’s eyes fixed on his face. 

“Yea, he kinda does,” Lance shrugged one shoulder and went back to carefully braiding Keith's long hair. It was soothing and repetitive and Lance liked the feeling of his husband’s soft hair sliding through his fingers. He’d been having a rough week of little sleep and jumped at the chance when Keith suggested they enjoy a quiet day together, asking if Lance would braid his hair back. He would do it every morning after Diego was born, keeping Keith's hair up to help him look presentable and keep the hair out of the way. It was something small but Keith appreciated it. Lately, he didn’t do it as often, a quick ponytail being more than adequate for the day. 

He knew what Keith was doing by asking him this but he didn’t mind. It was his husband’s way of taking care of him. 

“What do you think he’s going to be like?” Lance asked suddenly. 

“What do you mean?” Keith turned his head ever so slightly to look over his shoulder. 

“Do you think he’ll want to fly like us? Do you think he’ll want to be a doctor or an astronaut? Do you think he’ll have like...a superhero phase? Omg what if he has an emo phase like you?” Lance joked, pretending to be horrified. 

“What if he has a weaboo phase like you?” Keith retorted. 

“I told you that in confidence!” Lance huffed. His eyes softened as he finished Keith’s braid and wrapped his arms around his husband. Resting his chin on Keith's shoulder he smiled down at Diego fondly. “Besides, I’ll still love him if he’s a weaboo or emo or gets a bowl cut. I’ll still love him even if he’s a furry.”

Keith snorted with laughter and Lance grinned, watching his husband’s nose scrunch up as he threw his head back. Damn, he would never get tired of that. 

“You’re so fucking beautiful when you laugh,” Lance sighed, burying his face in Keith’s neck. 

“Don’t swear in front of the baby,” Keith scolded in a soft whisper. Lance could feel Keith’s nose nuzzling at his hair and he smiled. 

“You’ve heard worse,” Lance teased. 

“Shut up,” Keith elbowed him lightly, Lance chuckled, feeling Keith’s body vibrate slightly with his own laughter. Lance squeezed him tighter. 

“I love you so fucking much, babe.”

“I love you too,” 

XXXX

Keith was used to being exhausted and sleep deprived from his time in space. He went through a lot then and his sleeping patterns were all over the place. But that seemed like nothing compared to the sleep deprivation of having a new baby. 

No one was really sure what to expect from Diego, being a quarter galra. He seemed to be mostly like other human babies but he was growing faster and that included his teeth. He was definitely an early teether, though there were still no signs of any actual teeth forming. It still made him grumpy and uncomfortable, which meant that the baby monitor was often filled with unhappy screeching and whimpering. The sounds broke Keith's heart but he still couldn’t help cursing whenever a particularly loud wail woke him from a deep sleep. When Keith awoke one night, he assumed it was from the baby but as he struggled into wakefulness, he couldn’t hear anything through the monitor. Frowning, Keith rolled over to an empty bed. 

Lance hadn’t said anything, but he was sure Keith noticed his nightmares had significantly decreased in the two months leading up to Diego’s birth. That didn’t mean he didn’t still experience them. 

He awoke suddenly in the middle of the night, eyes flying open with a soundless gasp. He sat up slowly, trying to catch his breath and brushing his sweaty hair back from his forehead. Keith was still fast asleep next to him and Lance was glad not to have woken him. He felt especially bad about it with how tired Keith always was lately, not wanting to add to his husband’s stress. 

That wasn’t to say that there wasn’t someone already awake in the house. Lance could hear soft, unhappy noises coming through the baby monitor, little whimpers and sniffles. 

“Hold on, mijo,” Lance murmured, sliding carefully out of bed. His heart was still beating rapidly in his chest, the sweat cooling on his skin and making him shiver. 

When Lance pushed open the door to the nursery, Caramel looked up at him from her spot on the floor beside the crib. She wagged her tail and stood up, looking pleased that he was here. She directed her huge, soulful eyes towards the crib, as though telling him there was something wrong with the baby. 

“I know, girl. I got him,” Lance assured her. He leaned over, carefully extracting the squirmy baby from the bed. “Oh, mijo. No llores, por favor.” Diego sniffled and looked up at him, eyes attempting to focus on Lance’s face. He seemed calmer then, seeing his Papa and making a small noise in recognition as his little feet kicked out. Lance smiled, bouncing him gently. 

“Are you wet? Cambio de pañal, mijo?” Lance raised an eyebrow as he brought the baby over to the changing station. By now he was a pro at changing a diaper and had Diego cleaned up in no time. 

“Good now, hermoso? Hm, my hermoso hombrecito?” Lance grinned down at the baby blinking up at him. He held Diego’s tiny little feet in his hands, wiggling them gently before bringing them up to his lips to kiss his little toes. “You’re so cute I could just eat you up!”

Diego didn’t respond, obviously, but he did seem pleased with the attention. Lance chuckled, realising all at once that any anxiety he may have had from his dream was gone. He didn’t even remember his it at all.

“Those nasty teeth still giving you trouble?”  Lance murmured, lifting the baby up. Diego whimpered again and Lance soothed him with a hand rubbing his back. “Okay, hold on there, little man.”

Lance reached into the crib, grabbing out the plastic teething toy. He had to readjust Diego as he reached up for the medicine in the high cupboard. Krolia had given it to Kieth, some sort of galra teething medicine that they coated over his chew toys when his teething was bad. It seemed to help. 

Lance put a few dabs over the toy before bringing it up to Diego’s mouth. The baby latched on with his surprisingly strong jaws. “Jeez, no wonder Keith’s always sore after feeding you,” Lance murmured. 

Diego still didn’t have great coordination, so Lance helped him keep the toy steady as he chewed, settling them both into the rocking chair in the corner. He took the blanket draped over the back and wrapped it around them, still holding the baby tight to his chest. 

Lance sang softly, his favorite Spanish lullaby that his mom used to sing to him every night. Caramel laid down by his feet with a thump and a heavy sigh, seemingly satisfied that Lance had adequately taken care of the situation. 

That was how Keith found them when he poked his head into the nursery a half hour later. He didn’t say anything at first, just leaning against the doorway as he watched. Lance noticed him and they made eye contact, Keith smiling softly as he waited for Lance to finish the song. 

“Hey,” Keith murmured, coming closer when his husband stopped singing. He stood behind the rocking chair, looking down at the tiny bundle in Lance’s arms. “Did he wake you?” he asked, leaning down to kiss the top of his head. 

“Nah,” Lance replied but didn’t elaborate. Keith nodded, not prying. They just enjoyed the silence for a moment before Keith reached out to take the baby. 

“It’s time to feed him anyway,” he said. Lance nodded, handing him over carefully. 

“Let’s go back to bed,” Lance suggested. Keith nodded, already holding Diego up to his bare chest and positioning him properly. He latched on easily and was busily sucking away before they even reached the hallway. 

Chuckling, Lance put an arm around Keith’s shoulders. “That lucky bastard,” he said fondly, gazing down at his son in Keith's arms. Keith gave him a look that only made him chuckle more. Keith rolled his eyes. 

It was difficult to climb into bed while holding a baby in his arms, but Lance assisted and soon enough Keith was leaning up against his husband, Lance’s arms helping support both him and the baby. 

For awhile there was nothing but the sound of Diego eating, both of them watching in fascination as though they hadn't seen the same thing a hundred times by now. 

“You okay?” Keith asked quietly, breaking the silence. 

Lance smiled softly, pulling Keith closer. “Yea.”

Keith nodded, satisfied that Lance was telling the truth. He kissed the top of Keith's head before leaning his cheek against his husband’s temple, hand stroking gently against his bare arm. 

“Can you believe this?” Lance whispered softly. 

“Sometimes,” Keith chuckled. “But most of the time it all seems like a dream or something.”

“I know what you mean,” Lance agreed with a smile. “I can’t believe we’re finally here...”

“Believe it, baby blue,” Keith murmured, smirking up at his husband. 

Lance had never been more in love.

XXXX

Weaning Diego off milk was easy. Getting him to talk was not. 

At first, the baby seemed reluctant to eat anything elsse but it wasn’t hard to find things that he liked. He was already fond of meat which was apparently quite normal for galra. His teeth had already come in which only added to Keith's desire to wean him. Lance’s mother was constantly getting him to try new foods which Diego gulped down. This seemed to be never ending entertainment to Lance’s mother and Abuela who enjoyed showing off this ‘trick’ to all the family members. 

“Watch!” Mrs. McClain would say, setting a little bowl and spoon in front of the baby sitting expectantly in his high chair. Of course he would forgo the spoon and shovel the food into his mouth directly, making the group squeal in delight and talk over each other about what a clever boy he was while cooing praises. For his part, Diego seemed more than happy to perform in the name of food. 

Hunk made  a chicken and carrot puree that Diego especially loved. Though he’d given them the recipe, no one could quite recreate it the way that Hunk did. Diego, clever as he was, seemed to recognise this and his eyes lit up whenever Hunk brought him into the kitchen to watch him cook. Diego seemed to enjoy it, though who knew if he was actually taking in any of the tips that Hunk was telling him while he worked. Either way, it made them both happy, especially when Hunk finished and set the food down, watching Diego devour it with gusto.

Of course he enjoyed snacks too, which was how Shiro attempted to win the baby’s first word. 

While Diego was growing more quickly than most babies, he still hadn’t said anything at all. Physically, he was getting bigger and stronger, his hand eye coordination developing at an almost astonishing rate. But he was just so quiet. For his part, Keith wasn't surprised. 

“Why would he talk? He doesn’t have anything to say?” 

Lance had just looked at his husband, unable to come up with a response. That still didn’t stop him from trying to get Diego to say “Papa” first. 

“Shi-ro,” Shiro pronounced clearly, mouthing dramatically. He pushed another little piece of chocolate towards the baby. Diego’s eyes lit up and he grabbed it, shoving the piece in his mouth. 

“Okay, now say Shiro. Shi-ro. C’mon. I know the ‘Sh’ part is hard. Just try your best!” He prompted, sliding more chocolate towards him. Diego snatched it and ate it, not even bothering to attempt the word. 

“Shiro, don’t bribe him,” Keith scolded. His eyes softened as he came up behind the high chair and brushed Diego’s hair from his face before leaning down to kiss the top of his head. 

Shiro turned away, not wanting to draw attention to the moment and make Keith feel uncomfortable. He’d mellowed so much from the lost, angry kid Shiro had first met. Keith was almost an entirely different person now. He was still a bit impulsive but he wasn’t reckless anymore. 

Shiro glanced at the stove where Hunk was attempting to thwart Lance and Pidge from sneaking pieces of food. Lance laughed when Hunk tapped his hand with the wooden spoon, only to have Pidge swoop in under Hunk’s arm and steal the piece he’d just defended from Lance. 

Shiro smiled to himself before turning back to Keith and Diego. The baby was holding a hand out towards him, making grabbing motions. 

“Sorry, little buddy. That’s enough for now. Uncle Hunk is making you you’re favorite dinner. Gotta save room.” Shiro grinned and took hold of the baby’s tiny hand anyway. 

Diego pouted, making him and Keith chuckle. 

Keith lifted the baby from his high chair, settling him on his hip and bouncing him a little to keep him calm. For a few minutes it seemed to work but he steadily became fussier and fussier, wiggling in Keith’s arms. He tried shifting Diego and bouncing him more. Shiro gave it a try which worked a little, letting Diego grip the front part of his hair. 

However, the longer the food took, the fussier he got. The others didn’t have much trouble talking over him though. Diego clearly wasn’t a fan of this development. Something had to be done. 

“Foo!” 

The whole kitchen went silent, all eyes turning to the baby in Shiro’s arms. 

“Foo!” Diego screeched again. He reached out towards Hunk, hands grabbing at the air. “Foo! Foo!”

Everyone started talking at once, exclaiming over his first words. This was clearly not what Diego wanted. 

“Foo Hun! Foo!” he screeched, clearly directing this order towards Hunk as he almost flopped from Shiro’s arms reaching towards him. Shiro caught him easily and blinked at Hunk

“Uh, yep! Coming right up, buddy!” Hunk assured him, hurrying back to the stove and dishing him up. 

“Jeez, someone’s bossy when they’re hangry,” Lance teased, coming forward to taking Diego from Shiro. “You gotta say please, hombrecito.”

“Your family created a monster,” Keith said, shaking his head. Lance laughed but they both knew he was only half joking. 

XXXX

Like most things, Diego’s first trip to the beach was a production. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been near the water before but this was a special occasion. His first official visit to Veredero Beach.

It was a veritable convoy as they headed out. Lance drove with Krolia in the front, Keith and Shiro in the back with Diego in between. Lance’s parents followed with Veronica and Luis and Marco was meeting them there with his family. 

Diego was calm, large dark eyes looking around as Shiro extracted him from his car seat and brought him out into the sunlight. 

“Keep that hat down, little man,” Shiro teased, tugging at the wide floppy hat. Diego just looked at him curiously before staining to look out at the water. 

Shiro chuckled as Lance excitedly scooped the child from his arms. “Welcome to the beach, hombrecito!” Lance announced, bouncing him until Diego broke out into a grin and screeched with delight. The two adults grinned.

By the time Lance’s family pulled up just behind them, Shiro and Krolia had gotten comfy laying out on some towels under and beach umbrella while Lance splashed around with Diego, Keith standing up to his knees but still near the beach. 

“Isn’t that a little far?” Keith asked, holding a hand up to shade his eyes from the sun. 

“He’s fine!” Lance called back. He was up to mid chest in the water. “Look, babe! He’s a natural!”

He was right about that. As well as inheriting many physical traits from Lance, Diego also seemed to have his love of the water. The inflatable wings were helping to keep him a float as his little legs kicked through the water, squealing as Lance held onto his tiny hands and led him around in a circle. Diego showed absolutely no fear at all of the ocean. 

Keith’s face softened as he watched them, Lance plucking the child from the water and tossing him into the air before catching him again. Diego screamed in laughter, pointing at the water. 

“Wah, Papa! Wah!”

“You wanna go back in the water buddy?” Lance asked, lowering him back in. Diego made an exaggerated motion to show it was cold. Lance threw his head back and laughed. “It is kinda chilly huh, buddy? It’s nice on a hot day though. I think you’re like you Daddy, sensitive to cold, hey?”

Diego seemed to realise then that Keith wasn’t with them. His little head swiveled around until his eyes landed on Keith’s figure several feet away. Keith held up a hand and waved. 

“Are you swimming with Papa, baby?” he called. 

“Dada! Dada!” Diego thrashed, calling to him. 

“You want Daddy to come swim too?” Lance asked him, giving Keith a pointed look. There was no way that he would refuse them so he slowly waded out into the ocean. 

“Yaay, Daddy!” Lance cheered, tossing Diego again before lowering him to the water. “Let’s show Daddy how good you are at swimming.”

Diego seemed more than willing as he kicked his little feet, allowing Lance to tow him around again. He looked at Keith with a pleased expression. “Dada, swim!”

“I see that!” Keith exclaimed. “Wow, you’re a great swimmer!” 

He really was. Diego seemed to have no trouble at all coordinating his leg movements in the water and he showed no fear. He seemed more comfortable in the water than he did on land. While Diego had learned to stand he was still working on the whole walking part. His vocabulary was fast expanding and not just in English. Sometimes Lance and Keith were stumped when he asked for something in a Japanese or less occasionally Altean. Keith was at least fairly familiar with the Galran language at this point, enough to figure out what Diego might be trying to say in it. 

It was amazing being able to watch him grow and learn, exploring the world and everything it had to offer. Sometimes Lance and Keith were in awe when they looked at things the way their child must see them. Maybe they were a little biased but they could tell that Diego was going to go far, whatever he chose to do. 

The rest of Lance’s family had begun to migrate into the water at this point and there was a lot of splashing and laughing going on from his niece and nephew. 

“ No cerca del bebé!” Mrs. McClain screeched from her spot ankle deep in the water. Despite the fact that the children were several feet away at this time. 

“We got him, ma!’ Lance called back. She was always so nervous of something happening to Diego or him getting scared or startled. But she had been like that with her other grandkids as well. 

His mother gave a wave of acknowledgment but she still kept her eagle eye out for mischief. Shiro came to stand beside her, also watching the three figures farther out. He all but dwarfed the smaller woman at his side. 

“Wow, he really likes the water,” he noted. “Not scared at all. Most kids need to work up to just putting their face in.”

Mrs. McClain laughed. “Oh yes, Lance and Veronica were like that. Marco and Luis were a little more cautious. I remember having Lance at the pool and I couldn’t let him out of my sight for a second! He’d just jump straight into the deep end! Almost gave the poor lifeguard and the man swimming laps a heart attack!” Her eyes lit up at the memory but there was something sad there, her gaze focused on the little family splashing around. Lance was now letting go of Dieg o’s hands for a few seconds. He didn’t even react other than a wide grin as he attempted to move his arms. Lance and Keith laughed before Keith scooped him up and nuzzled his face. 

Diego screeched for the water again. “I remember that like it was yesterday. I can’t believe he’s so grown up now. Sometimes….it’s jarring. When I realise that this man used to be my little baby. Now he has a baby of his own and Diego is growing so fast!”

Shiro’s expression softened and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Lance grew up a lot out there.” He waved his false arm vaguely towards the sky. “He really stepped up when we needed him and he made calls that were tough but necessary. He was scared and he missed you guys but he was always so brave and we all knew we could rely on him. You must be so proud.”

Mrs. McClain glanced up at Shiro, surprised to see how watery his eyes were. She smiled in return and patted the hand on her shoulder. “I am,” she said softly. “You must be proud of Keith too. He’s told me everything you did for him. You must have seen in him then what we can all see now.”

“Yea,” Shiro nodded. “I did. I am proud of him, he did a lot of growing in his own and Lance was there for him a lot when I couldn't be. I can’t take all the credit.”

She nodded knowingly, smiling a little fondly at Shiro before she looked out at the ocean. “It’s hard, isn’t it?” she sighed. “When you have to let them figure things out on their own, watch them make their own mistakes and pick themselves up?”She spoke from a lot of experience and it really never got easier. 

“Yea,” Shiro agreed. He thought about Keith getting into fights, pushing everyone away, joining the blade and how hard that had been. But, Keith had known when to believe in himself and when it was time to return, he'd figured things out in his own way and now here he was, where he was meant to be. “It’s hard. But it's so rewarding….”

“They’ll experience it in time,” Mrs. McClain said softly. “One day Diego won’t be so little anymore. He’ll be a grown man and they'll have to watch him struggle to find himself too.”

“They will,” Krolia said softly from just over her shoulder. “There’s nothing harder than knowing you can do nothing more for your child….”

Shiro and Mrs.McClain looked over at her with sympathetic expressions. Mrs. McClain put a hand out, resting it on Krolia’s upper arm. 

“True,” Lance’s father agreed, coming to stand beside Shiro. He wasn’t a man of many words so when he spoke, it meant he had something to say. “But that’s when Lance and Keith will need us again. And we’ll be there for them .”

XXXX

Honestly, Lance was not the best with tools but his son was turning three and he wanted a play house and he was going to get his playhouse. He was beyond grateful for his own father’s help with this project, he wasn't sure he would have been able to pull this off otherwise. With his help, Lance was able to give Diego the very best birthday present ever. He wanted to keep it a surprise from his husband as well and the look on Keith's face when he unveiled the playhouse was so worth it.    
The whole structure stood to about Krolia’s height and had several separate rooms, including a little bathroom with a plastic kiddie pool, a bedroom with built in bunks that kids could seep in, a built in kitchen complete with real cupboards and an outdoor ‘garden’ attached that was really just a sandbox. Diego was quite pleased but Keith was even more so. 

“Wow, you built this?’ He asked, slowly circling the structure. His hand stroked almost reverently along the shingled roof before he glanced at Lance. 

Sheepishly, the other man rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away. “Well, with help…”

He knew that Keith was pretty handy so he didn’t think he would be quite this impressed. “But Diego wanted a play house so he gets a playhouse. The best playhouse!”

“It really is,” Keith agreed, stepping closer. He wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, head on his shoulder. “You’re such a good father, Lance. I mean, I knew that before but like...you really go all out for him. And For me too.”

“Well yea,” Lance chuckled. He was a bit embarrassed but incredibly pleased. “I love you guys so much. You mean everything to me.” He squeezed Keith tight, feeling his husband melt against his chest. 

Diego finally popped his head out of one of the kitchen windows after having explored around his new home. “Papa, Daddy, I’m gonna make enchiladas in my kitchen!” He announced happily. “Want some?” 

“Daddy and I would love some, baby! Thank you!” Lance replied. Diego beamed at him before getting to work. It hadn't been hard to stock the kitchen with old pots and pans from his relatives and some plastic dishes. Diego started pulling things out, humming to himself and dancing around as he ‘cooked’.    
Keith laughed. “He cooks like you!”

Lance grinned. “That’s my boy!” He exclaimed before nuzzling into Keith's hair and kissing the top of his head. “I’m glad you guys like it so much. Should I build you one for your birthday too, babe?” he teased.    
Keith chuckled, pulling back a little to eye his husband with an expression Lance had no idea how to read. “Actually, there is something that you could make me for my birthday,” Keith murmured softly into his ear. 

Lance shivered, already knowing that he would make Keith anything he asked for. A teleduv? Done. A working car? Sure. A new lion? Absolutely. “Sure, babe. What do you want?”

“Hm…” Keith didn’t answer right away, giving his husband a soft, lingering kiss.”How would you feel about making another baby?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always super appreciated! Also if anyone is wondering, Lance and Keith do have another baby. They have a girl and her personality is exactly like Lance.


End file.
